Earth Science: Weather Vocabulary
Cold front: boundary between a warm air mass and a cold air mass
Warm front: boundary between a warm air mass and the cold air below it
Hurricane: storm with wind speeds usually greater than 74 mph and usually having heavy rains
Tornado: rotating column of air with very high and destructive winds
Cyclone: circulating air mass around a low pressure system; circulates counterclockwise in the Northern
Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere
Isobar: line on a weather map connecting points of equal pressure
Isotherm: line on a weather map connecting points of equal temperature
Occluded front: line where a cold front overtakes a warm front
Stationary front: transition zone between two unmoving air masses of different densities
High pressure: atmospheric pressure is greater than the surrounding area; often associated with “good”
weather patterns
Low pressure: atmospheric pressure is less than the surrounding area; often associated with “poor”
weather patterns
Barometer: device used to measure air pressure and/or changes in air pressure
Anemometer: device used to measure wind speed
Front: boundary between two air masses
Troposphere: lowest part of the Earth’s atmosphere
Humidity: measure of the level of moisture in the air
Thermal: column of rising air created by uneven heating of the Earth’s surface
Convection cell: circulated fluid (air) that is heated from below and cooled from above
Air mass: volume of air identified by its temperature and humidity
Climate: long-term patterns of temperature, rainfall, humidity, winds, and atmospheric pressure for a
given area